TGEU announces that Julia Ehrt, our Executive Director will leave the organisation at the end of 2018. Thankfully Julia does not leave the world of trans activism as she will take on the role of Director of Programs at ILGA. .

Below is a letter from TGEU’s Co-Chairs Clémence Zamora-Cruz and Dinah Bons about Julia’s departure from TGEU and the handover process to ensure organisational continuity and proper transition of leadership responsibilities at the organisation.

Dear Members, fellow activists, friends, and colleagues,

We wish to inform you that our Executive Director, Julia Ehrt, will leave Transgender Europe towards the end of this year. While this is a sad moment for TGEU, Julia will not be leaving the activist community as she moves to ILGA. In her new role, Julia will advance LGBTI people’s rights on a global level as the new Director of Programs at ILGA. TGEU thanks Julia for her longstanding commitment to trans rights and for being a pioneer in European-level trans selforganizing and advocacy work.

Julia said: “I have been involved in TGEU since its beginning in 2005 as Steering Member, then as Vice- and Co-chair and finally as TGEU’s first Executive Director. It has been an incredibly fulfilling and exciting 13-year long journey –which has shaped both me and TGEU. I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to work with so many great activists in all these years. Activists who believed in trans rights and a strong European-level trans organisation, also in those times when this sounded like science fiction!”

TGEU is currently developing an interim leadership structure among the staff to ensure organisational continuity and proper transition of leadership responsibilities. A team of interim directors will make sure that TGEU will stay on track and that handover from Julia is smooth, while also nurturing the growth of TGEU to new frontiers which will centre under-represented communities in our work.

Our work is seen as a point of reference for European and Central Asian trans communities. As we lead in these areas we need to ensure that we reflect on our past and current work while inspiring a new vision on how to contribute to an inclusive society. We must break down those barriers, such as, racism, poverty and exclusion, and we must and will continue to fight against transphobia, stigma and violence, to the best of our abilities. This also means that we are reflecting on internal power dynamics as we shape our management structure to one which can work with different communities and build bridges so that no one will feel left behind.

TGEU wishes Julia good luck in her new job and future endeavours, and we are sure we will continue supporting each other in our efforts to raise awareness and further trans rights and inclusion in Europe and Central Asia.